President Obama cracks down on scams used to bilk veterans of educational benefits during Ft. Stewart visit

Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama place a flag and Presidential coin under the Eastern Red Bud tree honoring Private First Class Shane Mikel Stinson, of Fullerton Georgia, during a stop at Warrior's Walk while visiting Fort Stewart on Friday. Stinson was killed in action on June 23, 2007.

At 2:18 p.m.: Air Force One, carrying President Barack Obama, and a Gulfstream 5, carrying first lady Michelle Obama, both have departed from Hunter Army Airfield. Their visit to Savannah, Hunter and Fort Stewart lasted about three and a half hours. Mrs. Obama's plane left about 2:16 p.m. Air Force One took off about 2:17 p.m.

At 2:07 p.m.: President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have boarded separate planes to leave Hunter Army Airfield and Savannah. The president escorted Mrs. Obama to her plane before he boarded Air Force One.

At 2:01 p.m. Marine One has landed at Hunter Army Airfield, returning President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama from their trip to Fort Stewart. The president will board Air Force One and return to Washington, D.C. Mrs. Obama will board a Gulfstream 5 and travel to Florida.

At 1:36 p.m. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama were boarding Marine One to head back to Fort Stewart. As they made their way across the base to the airport, well-wishers lined the streets trying to get a peek at them.

At 12:50 p.m., President Barack Obama has begun his speech to a crowd of about 10,000 3rd ID soldiers, families and veterans at Fort Stewart.

12:40 p.m.: Sgt. Johnnie Marshall introduced. He shared story as a "victim" of a for-profit university, which targeted servicemembers, veterans and their families. He then introduced the president and first lady, saying he is "glad the president and first lady are here to address this problem"

12:44 p.m.: Michelle Obama says, "Hello, Fort Stewart! We are beyond thrilled to be here. I just have one thing to say: HOOAH!""Military families, I am in awe of you."

About 10,000 soldiers, family members and veterans gathered on Marne Field in nearly 90 degree heat. Maj. Gen. Robert Abrams, 3rd Infantry Division commander, will open the event, then introduce Sgt. Johnnie Marshall, 2-3 Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, who will introduce the first lady, who will then introduce President Obama.

The crowd began arriving at 6:30 a.m.

At 12:22 p.m., President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have begun speaking to the assembled crowd at Fort Stewart. When they arrived at 3rd ID headquarters at noon, they were greeted by the division's commander, Maj. Gen. Robert Abrams.

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have arrived at Fort Stewart and are preparing to speak to the assembled soldiers, families and veterans.

President Obama is scheduled to sign an executive order launching a national crackdown on scams used to bilk veterans out of their federal education benefits while at Fort Stewart.

After landing at Fort Stewart, the Obamas visited two trees at Warriors Walk, a collection of 441 Eastern redbud trees at Fort Stewart. Each tree honors a 3rd Infantry Division soldier killed since the War on Terror began in 2001.

At 11:34 a.m., President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have landed at Fort Stewart in Marine One.

At 11:11 a.m., President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have boarded Marine One at Hunter Army Airfield and are on their way to Fort Stewart.

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama landed at Hunter Army Airfield in Air Force One at 10:48 a.m.The Obamas are to be greeted by Col. promotable Chris Hughes, deputy commanding general for support, and his wife Marguerite, plus Lt. Col. Ed Kovalski, garrison commander at Hunter, and Command Sgt. Maj. Stanley Hood and wife Eleecia.About 100 soldiers are corralled in front of where the Obamas will deplane. The president will greet them.The president and first lady next will travel to Fort Stewart in Hinesville.

The White House just released this information about President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama's visit to Fort Stewart today:

Today, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will visit Fort Stewart in Georgia where the President will sign an Executive Order to help ensure all of America’s service members, veterans, spouses, and other family members have the information they need to make informed educational decisions and are protected from aggressive and deceptive targeting by educational institutions.Fort Stewart is home to the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, one of the Nation’s premiere military units, which deployed numerous times to Iraq in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn, and currently has elements supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Fort Stewart has been a leader across the military by providing extensive educational counseling in order to protect its service members against aggressive and deceptive recruiting, serving as a model for other bases. In 2011, more than 4,800 soldiers at the Army post took over 15,000 college classes using Department of Defense (DoD) Tuition Assistance.

The following individuals will stand with the President and First Lady as they sign the Executive Order:

Sergeant Johnnie Marshall, an Electronic Warfare Specialist in the 3rd Infantry Division stationed at Ft. Stewart, had a negative experience with a for-profit college. In 2010, Sergeant Marshall was referred by another student to a for-profit college. The school contacted him immediately and told him that he could earn his associate degree in one year using his educational benefits. After enrolling in two online courses, Marshall learned about the school’s accreditation issues and became concerned his credits would not transfer. After voicing his concern and attending an education fair at the Ft. Stewart Education Center, Sergeant Marshall transferred to Central Texas College. He is currently third in his class and is able to take classes around his training schedule. Sgt. Marshall plans to finish his degree with Central Texas College and remain a career Soldier.

Holly Petraeus is an Assistant Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), heading up the Office of Servicemember Affairs. Her office’s mission is to partner with the Pentagon to see that military families receive strong financial education; to monitor complaints from military families and responses to those complaints by the CFPB and other agencies; and to see that federal and state agencies coordinate their activities to improve consumer protection measures for military families. Prior to joining the CFPB, Mrs. Petraeus spent six years as the Director of BBB Military Line, a program of the Council of Better Business Bureaus providing consumer education and advocacy for servicemembers and their families. A military spouse of 37 years and a former Department of the Army civilian employee, Mrs. Petraeus also has extensive experience as a volunteer leader in military family programs. In that role she has worked with local, state and national legislators on issues affecting Army families, to include testifying at two U.S. Senate hearings on deployment-related issues.

Semaj Grant, Army Veteran

After her medical discharge from the United States Army as a medic with Charlie Company, 703 BSB, 3rd Infantry Division in 2004, Ms. Semaj Grant returned home to Hinesville, Georgia to pursue her college education goals of earning a degree in human services. Following a stint at a local Hinesville college that eventually closed its doors, Ms. Grant enrolled in a for-profit institution. She felt that the school was not consistent in providing financial or advising information and was not veteran friendly, especially when it came to educational flexibility surrounding documented PTSD service connected disability. After taking five classes at a cost of over $10,000, Ms. Grant eventually left the for-profit school. Following a visit to the Ft. Stewart Education Center she enrolled in Columbia College using her Veteran’s Education Benefits. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in General Studies and plans to graduate in the Fall of 2012.

Amy Ivey, Military Spouse & Student

Amy Ivey, the spouse of Specialist Chad Ivey, an active duty Soldier in the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, had a negative experience at a for-profit college. After she got married, Mrs. Ivey decided to pursue an Associate of Arts degree from a for-profit school. During the enrollment process, she was continually switched among multiple financial aid and academic advisors and eventually was placed with an “enrollment counselor” who called relentlessly each week until she was signed up for courses. Throughout the process, Mrs. Ivey was consistently given the impression that financial aid would cover all of her educational expenses and was not told until after she enrolled that financial aid also included student loans. Despite MYCAA and Federal Pell grant funding, she and her husband eventually had to dip into their savings to pay for the full cost of classes. Mrs. Ivey ended up leaving the for-profit school after finding the online classes and instructors disappointing. Today, she is enrolled full-time as a junior at Columbia College in Fort Stewart, Georgia. She utilizes MYCAA and Pell grant funding for tuition and expenses and has her financial obligation supplemented with a Columbia College Spouse Opportunity Grant.

Specialist Melissa Ann Schulte, Army Reservist & Student

SPC Melissa Ann Schulte joined the Army Reserves in 2001. SPC Schulte began her college studies at Central Texas College using the Army’s tuition assistance program. Later, in search of a specific degree, SPC Schulte did an online search for “military friendly schools.” Shortly afterward, she was inundated with phone calls, primarily from for-profit schools. SPC Schulte ended up enrolling in one of the for-profit institutions because it offered the degree she wanted. Once enrolled, SPC Schulte had several problems with the school and ultimately decided to leave for Columbia College. The for-profit she left has continued to call and try and get her back, even raising the erroneous claim that her current school is not accredited. SPC Schulte is very happy with the faculty and staff at Columbia College and is looking forward to taking classes at the Ft. Stewart Branch this May. SPC Schulte is married to Sergeant First Class Daniel Lee Schulte who was recently transferred to the 51st Chemical Company, 83rd Chemical Battalion at Fort Stewart, Georgia.

Tina Hysaw, Education Services Specialist, Ft. Stewart

Tina Hysaw has served the last twenty-five years as an Army Continuing Education Services (ACES) Specialist providing counseling services to Soldiers, family members and Army civilians and veterans. During her ACES tenure, Ms. Hysaw worked twelve years in Frankfurt Germany, and deployed to Bosnia/Herzegovina in 1996 to provide education services to Soldiers supporting Operation Joint Endeavor. The last thirteen years of Ms. Hysaw’s ACES career have been at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Ms. Hysaw hails from Seguin, Texas and graduated from Texas Woman’s University.

Dorothy (Dorcee) Taylor, Education Services Specialist, Ft. Stewart

Ms. Dorcee Taylor has worked in the Army Continuing Education Services (ACES) with the 3rd Infantry Division for 34 years serving as a counselor and supervisory education specialist. During this time she has worked in Karlsruhe and Giessen Germany, Fort Belvoir, the Pentagon and Fort Myer, Virginia. She has also had two tours at Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia. In addition to her counseling duties, Taylor currently serves as the Education Center’s marketing liaison and the primary contact for Veterans Affairs. Taylor was born in Houston, Texas and grew up in Syracuse, New York and Edison, New Jersey. She attended Glassboro State Teachers College and earned a Masters in Guidance and Psychological Services with Georgia State University.

First Sergeant Keven Elwood’s career is a testament to the benefits of the Army’s education programs. After first enlisting in the Army in 1996, First Sergeant Elwood has had several assignments, most recently serving in the 3rd Battalion 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment where he has been deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq. Following a string of successes in military schools, First Sergeant Elwood excelled in college. In August of 2011 he completed an Associate of Arts in General Studies with Central Texas College through the Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia campus. With no break in his education, First Sergeant Elwood immediately enrolled in classes with Columbia College seeking to further the management skills he developed through the Army by enrolling in the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program with a concentration in Management. After completing nearly a year with Columbia College he maintains a 3.67 Grade Point Average. First Sergeant Elwood is originally from South Point, North Carolina.

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I love conservatives when it comes to the President any thing he does gets criticized by the right or folks who simply hate him as a man for what ever reasons. Todays speach and executive order should be appluaded as it's simple military protections against educational institutions that take advantage of government funds made available to current past soldiers. By no means am I saying that thia President perfect but is he better than the guy who ran the country from 2000 - 2008 yes, and does he have more in common with the majority of America unlike his current elitist competitor (Willard) yes he does. So in conclusion a famous man once told me if you don't have haters then you're not doing something correctly and in the president's case he has a lot of haters especially on this blog site.

If i did not agree with Pres. Bush I was simply making my opinion known . But if I disagree with Pres. Obama I hate black people and I'm prejudice.

Ok I think I am going in the right direction here!

If I don't clap and jump up an down when Pres. Obama opens his mouth I am prejudice!

If I don't want to give away my hard earned money to the goverment then I 'm racist and hate the Pres. Oh because he is black.

Heck no I dislike him because he is a pandering politician just like the rest of them and he will kiss the behind of whomever he thinks will vote for him. No matter how much it cost the nation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can find links to his re-election stops if you look hard enough (like you looked for ethra being discharged). It's wrong when YOU do it, and it's wrong when THEY do it, look at your posts and the post of THEM, no room for a debate or discussion. If everyone is right (the ones who cheered and clapped for bush, obama, etc) and no one is wrong, how did we get where we are? I know the answer---THEY did it, WE didn't. i could go on about how others resolved their differences, how we corrected past wrongs, but you know that already. What's funny is BOTH President Bush and President Obama ran as uniters and not dividers. As Machavelli always say, they are symptoms of the BIGGER problem----US.

Heck no I dislike him because he is a pandering politician just like the rest of them and he will kiss the behind of whomever he thinks will vote for him. No matter how much it cost the nation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You raise a good question that I can't answer, at what point does the nation come first if we are all voting for pandering politicians? And who are they pandering at...............

At present anyone who is willing to destroy the foundation that this great country was built upon. And yes even with it's many past and current faults it is the greatest country in the world. We do not need to form our laws and requlations after any other country. The next one may or may not be different??????????

and Obama fits the bill. If you wanna call me racist, have at it. He's got one agenda, DESTROY AMERICA, TAKE OUR WEALTH,and MAKE THE USA, A COMMUNIST/ SOCIALIST/ MARKIST NATION!!!! WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The President and First Lady did a fine job paying tribute to our men and women service members today. Everyone should appreciate their sentiments.

By the way, this is not the first military base the Prez has visited while in office. So please, spare us the "election year" stuff. The guy has visited troops many times all over the world. Some of you make me laugh with your convenient lies and all consuming hatred.

I wish Obama would have talk about his proposed defense budget calling for military families and retirees to pay sharply more for their healthcare, while leaving unionized civilian defense workers’ benefits untouched. This is so hypocritical.

replacement for the worn out, overused "racist" label. It is typically applied by the same despicable crowd when confronted with the facts, the truth, or statistical data. For those who feel they need to label me, please use the more apropos term- despiser. While I don't hate you, I may regard you with contempt and disdain based purely on your actions and responses.

As for sanityinga, I think she has assumed a more masculine identity in the form of EyeofNewtGingrich. You go girl.

You are wrong. Tyrant and many other's don't believe because of right wing nut jobs, as lefties don't believe because of left wing nut jobs. The nut jobs (partisan media, etc) exists because the demand is their from the public. These are their own thoughts and opinions. The Archie Bunkers and Abbie Hoffmans of the world existed before FOX News and CNN. If more moderates don't step up to the plate and demand governance from the center (How else can over 300 million exist together) from each party, we will continue to live in a country looking eerily similar to posts on this blog. Just my take...

Yes, it's called the UCMJ. The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ, 64 Stat. 109, 10 U.S.C. Chapter 47), is the foundation of military law in the United States. It was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution in Article I, Section 8, which provides that "The Congress shall have Power . . . To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval forces." Darn it, in accordance with the CONSTITUTION. Petition your congressman to change it so that those in service can protest generals they don't like, wars they don't like, etc, etc. Make it so that if I'm in the military and my choice for president is not elected, I can get out. Yep, serve in the wars of my choosing, for the president of my choosing, sounds good to me! Then you would of course have to change the US in US Armed Forces.

Social change takes an extremely long time. 50 - 60 years is a relatively short time in the lifespan of a nation. As the people that grew up in the era when discrimination and racism were acceptable or who had to fight for even the right to use a bathroom, or whose parents were of that generation, die off, attitudes will change. The young people in our schools or in their 20's today are far less racist and far more tolerant of racial minorities and of homosexuals than the older folks. In addition, the racial composition of our nation is changing. Non-whites make up a far larger portion of the population than they did a generation ago.

In view of the foregoing, I am optimistic that bigots of all stripes will become numerically insignificant in the not too distant future. That will be a very good thing indeed.

I got out one day to get some fresh air. All I smelled was the stinch of mendacity coming from mis-guided democrats, socialists, communists, and the whinings of the "give me everything for free" mooching and ignorant followers of Obummer. By the way, we will win. We have the tenacity, talent, and the intellectual ammo. No Tyrant, you are not biased at all. A role model for intelligent discourse and open debate.

I'm surprised that the Savannah Morning News does nothing to crack down on the rabid racism that rears its ugly head daily on this forum. If you're black, Muslim, poor, a child, handicapped, aged, foreign, unemployed or just plain different from your average WASP or wannabe WASP...you're going to get an earful of bull from Savannah's finest bigots, courtesy of the Savannah Morning News.

Given the flaws in your grammar, you are obviously envious of our president's far superior intellect. You're certainly unable or unwilling to grasp reality. Perhaps if you find yourself in a position where you can no longer be "personally responsible," you'll learn a thing or two about life and compassion for your fellow man.

Given the flaws in your grammar, you are obviously envious of our president's far superior intellect. You're certainly unable or unwilling to grasp reality. Perhaps if you find yourself in a position where you can no longer be "personally responsible," you'll learn a thing or two about life and compassion for your fellow man.